Studies show there is a direct correlation between First-Call-Resolution (FCR) and employee satisfaction. Call center agents who are skilled at solving customer issues receive praise from management and positive feedback from customers which boosts their confidence and increases job satisfaction. Here are four suggestions for improving FCR in your center with customer service training.
1. Invest in Your Employees
First-Call-Resolution can be an elusive goal if customer service representatives do not possess the needed product or service knowledge or communication skills to adequately resolve customer issues. Investing in customer service training will ensure agent success and high customer satisfaction ratings. Centers that invest in training see improvements in call quality, agent efficiency, and employee satisfaction which add up to significant increases in FCR.
2. Increase Employee Engagement
Employees who feel valued and are recognized for performing well are more likely to continue the desirable behavior and encourage others to do the same. Engaged employees aspire to solve customer issues and will go above and beyond to make customers happy. If team leads and supervisors do not naturally possess the skills required to effectively provide feedback to agents, provide them with training to hone their coaching skills. Managers who are able to offer praise and constructive feedback are better able to optimize the performance of their team.
3. Measure Success
If you are not currently monitoring FCR, start immediately! First-Call-Resolution is one of the key performance indicators every center should measure to not only determine customer satisfaction but also pinpoint ways to reduce operational costs.
Each center has a specific way of measuring FCR. Many use call center agent questions at the close of the call such as “Have I successfully addressed all your needs?” and “Is there anything else I can help you with?”. Some centers use surveys or call quality monitoring. Others review records using phone call automatic number identification matching to verify if customers called back in a specific time period, or to see if the customer record was noted as resolved, escalated or scheduled for a call back. Choose the measuring method most suitable for your center and start monitoring to determine whether or not your agents are solving customer issues appropriately the first time.
Need additional validation? Consider a customer service assessment for your center and have a professional consultant highlight areas that can be improved.
4. Set Realistic Expectations
Customer calls are often lengthy or escalated because the customer had expectations that exceeded agent job duties or company policy. Customer satisfaction and agent performance is based on what the customer expected to take place – not necessarily poor performance by the agent.
Customer service training will aid your team in establishing a consistent process for handling difficult customers and give employees necessary communication skills to expertly control the call. To establish consistent FCR make sure that Marketing and Service departments are aligned and not over-promising your product or service.
Increasing FCR will add value to your service or product. When customer issues are resolved quickly and correctly the first time — customer satisfaction increases and so will your revenue. Be sure to equip your employees with the tools necessary to be successful. Use the above suggestions and improve First-Call-Resolution with customer service training in your center today.
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